There is a consumer demand for beverages dispensers that can deliver a variety of beverages in receptacles of different sizes. For example, some machines are capable of preparing an espresso coffee or a long American coffee in a small or medium cup and a latte macchiato coffee in a large cup.
During the dispensing of a beverage it is usually important to maintain a short distance between the beverage outlet and the receptacle in order to produce a good quality froth particularly for getting the “crema” of an espresso coffee, besides avoiding the risk of spatter. What is required, therefore, is a system that can incite the user to choose the correct holder and to set a correct distance between the beverage outlet and the receptacle.
EP 1 867 260 describes a holder and drip-collecting system that can be positioned either in a first deployed position for supporting small receptacles or in a second retracted position enabling the positioning of larger receptacles. An inconvenient of the above system is that the dispenser can deliver small size beverages like an espresso coffee in receptacles positioned at a high distance from the beverage outlet. If the consumer doesn't pay attention to the choice of the receptacle size and the position of the holder and drip-collecting system an espresso coffee is not prepared with the optimal quality.
The object of the present invention is to propose a beverage dispenser answering the above problem and able to incite the customer to always place the right cup at the right dispensing position.